Germany

I am leaving for the Land of the Big Schnitzel (Baden, in particular) tomorrow. It is purely educational in nature as I hope to visit a Schuetzen Museum in Berne, a rifle match, a gun maker, a firearms collection or two, and an Elvis impersonator. Plus a visit to the BLUE LUBE Works is on the schedule. I may be able to post some pictures. I also hope to study with the noted gastrosopher B. Kellner the various edibles and potables of the region. I have engaged the services of a couple of native guides to ease my passage and to explain the quaint ways of the indigenous folk. The above photo of Merdingen is by the internationally known photo artist Ingo Laue.

Boo!

Happy Halloween.

Hubertus Octoberus

Our St. Hubertus shoot is done and the laurels (and the coveted tub of BLUE LUBE) were taken by Paul Lambert in the main match. Paul shot a 249-10X on one of his targets and if that was not honor enough, he also took home the Ehrenscheibe, a little memento for his recent birthday anniversary. Gaylord won the Traditional Rifle match and the Merdingen medal, shooting a 360 with his real purty Buechel Meister. Bill Flint actually outshot Gaylord with a 383 but his traditional rifle just wasn't traditional enough. Sorry Bill, take the bragging rights though. Ron Bell also shot the Traditional match and did quite well even though he is recovering from a recent low altitude sky diving accident. This may not be our last match of the year as Gary is investigating the use of a setting for winter Zimmerstutzen competition. Stay tuned.

September Golden Spike Scores

In case you are not, as I am not, on Denny's email distribution list, you have been waiting to see how things went. Well, I have obtained them and have posted them here. You can see that attendance is down a bit from previous shoots which, to me, indicates that great strides are being made in weather prediction.

Albert Gotthilf Sterzing RIP

This week is the anniversary of the passing in 1889 of Albert Sterzing, the first president of the German Schuetzen Union (DSB). Sterzing was a gifted and extremely competent man and an orator whose friends called him "The Hurricane." He was born in Zella St. Blasii in 1822. His father was a physician and a brother learned the gun making trade. After his education and apprenticeship, he rose through the ranks of the legal bureaucracy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to become an adviser to Ernst II and counsel to the Thuringian railway. He also found time to become the Schuetzenmeister of the Altschuetzengesellschaft of Gotha.
His lasting gift to his fellow man, besides his family, was his leadership in the founding of the DSB. Ernst II, Duke of SCG (see way below), picked Sterzing to organize the Schuetzen societies of Germany into a "national" organization. This was complicated by the fact that at the time, 1861, "Germany" consisted of thirty-nine more-or-less independent states, some of which forbade the joining with "foreign" organizations. He was successful, extremely so. The first "national" Schuetzenfest in 1862 attracted about 8000 participants from around the globe. Much of what fueled the enthusiasm was the strong feeling among Germans for a once-again united Germany, a child that was born in 1871 with the help of the midwife, Wilhelm I of Prussia, and his men in blue.
Sterzing was elected as the first president of the DSB, a post he held, with much esteem, until his death. His real gift, beyond his organizational and motivational skills, was to guide this organization of armed groups, the Schuetzen societies, successfully through the dangers posed by revolutionaries on one hand and suspicious princes on the other. He did this, in my opinion, by steering competition away from military style competition while still emphasizing improvements in arms and marksmanship. Those precious exemplars of Schuetzen art, the rifles of his and later times-up to the time of National Socialism-are decidedly unmilitary. While the first standard competition rifle followed the example of the Swiss model 1852 Feldstutzen, complete with bayonet mount, we end the era with the beautiful but impractical Aydts and Martinis.

Utah Gun Collectors

Gary and Gaylord spent last weekend flying the flag at the Utah Gun Collectors show in Ogden. As you can see, they spent a lot of time and effort on their award winning display. Gaylord said that they received a lot of attention and we hope that it might translate into some new shooters. If some domestic partners are viewing this and want to know where all these rifles came from, I can tell you. Most of them are the other guy's.

Hating the French

The Daily Telegraph, a British newspaper has, helas, published a galling, entirely unfair, and possibly libelous article describing our puissant allies, the French here. These are probably the same guys that had the phony want ad--you know, French army rifle for sale. Never fired, dropped once. Tres amusant.

Wasserburger Mile

This is a photo of the target at the Wasserburger Mile shoot. Those Wyoming guys, what some characters. Actually this is only about six or seven hundred yards farther than the Buff Shoot at Golden Spike. Further details available at the Shiloh Sharps forum. More pix here.

Gun Porn

This picture of a very attractive Wesson rifle was posted on the ASSRA forum. One of our members, although I am unsure if his dues are up to date, D. Butler of Mayfield also has one in the works. When he gets it, it should be nice. The engraver has had it for about a year and at last report, is almost half way done.

The Cool Test

My brother-in-law sent me a test to determine how "cool" you were in high school. It provided me an interesting insight. If you would like to test yourself you may do so here.

St. Hubertus Shoot

We have a sponsor. Mr. Ingo Laue, CEO of the German firm that produces that excellent black powder lube, BLUE LUBE, has not only donated a medal for our next match but also some of his product for the victorious shooter to take home. The medal and the lube will be awarded to the best shooter at our traditional rifle match on the twenty-seventh of this month. This match is for ASSRA legal rifles made prior to WWII. We are dedicating our match to the patron saint of hunters, Saint Hubertus whose day is near the day of our shoot and whose symbol, the stag with a cross between his antlers (google the story), is often found engraved on firearms and featured on bottles of Jaegermeister.

San Rafael Schuetzenfest

This week Ron and Gloria have been out on the San Rafael Swell for their decades old Schuetzenfest. Absent this year, for the first in about twenty-five were Russ and Pat Weber. This fest consists of camping in the glorious desert of Utah with some friends and a lot of ammunition. Ron and Russ have gongs hung from 200 yards to wayout. Target shooting lasts until someone is tired of holding the spotlight for the shooters. Also many rocks at estimated distances met their fate. Another aspect of the fest is epicurean in nature and not to be missed. A few more pix here.

Not Schuetzen Related

Here is the Washington Post’s Mensa Invitational which once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are [some] winners:

Ignoranus : A person who’s both stupid and an asshole.

Intaxication : Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

Bozone ( n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating.

Giraffiti : Vandalism spray-painted very, very high

Sarchasm : The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn’t get it.

Osteopornosis : A degenerate disease.

Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you’ve accidentally walked through a spider web.

Lymph (v.): to walk with a lisp

October Match

The October match will be held the fourth Saturday (27th) of the month. We will gather at the Lee Kay Center 200 yard range and shoot our usual forty round program and our "King" target. We will also shoot a 20 round offhand match with ASSRA legal pre-WWII centerfire rifles at 200 yards, First prize for this match will be a handsome medal from the Sport Schuetzenverein of Merdingen, Germany. Dig out the old Feuerstutzen and do some practice. Refreshments afterwards and with some luck, pictures of maple leaves from Gaylord and Dixie's trip to New England. This will likely be our last shoot for the year unless we can find an indoor range for some small caliber competition. Special thanks to Gary Nelson for staking out our shooting spot.

Proto Chain Gun

The Usual Suspects

Last weekend was the Buffalo Shoot at Promontory and there was a fair crowd to shoot in spite of the weather report. The prediction was for cooler temperatures, breezes, and a chance of rain. What a relief. How often have we been there frying in the sun? This time, I did not even have the desire to put the sunshade up. Saturday began nice with a little wind. Our group shot the buffalo target the first round. Later the sky darkened a bit and it started to sprinkle. Although it didn’t rain as much as a half inch, Denny had us put our rifles in a dry place for a couple of hours until the chance of rust had diminished enough for us to finish the targets.

Sunday dawned a little brighter. There were some sprinkles and the cooler weather was welcome. I had thought to bring my duck hunting parka and insulated trousers. The wind picked up a bit but since we were shooting the shorter targets, we had the advantage. It was never so strong that one couldn’t walk about unsupported but even then some fainter hearts had left the match before the second day even began. With the reduced numbers, the match went quickly and it wasn’t long before Denny was handing out the “Best of Show” ribbons. I think that you will recognize the winners from matches past. Besides the ribbons, we drew for a nice Marbles knife and a Paul Jones mould that some sweet soul had anonymously donated for the event. A few pix are posted here.

Some Thoughts

After the match Saturday, I got to thinking that someone might benefit from some of our discussions about our Zimmers.

First of all, the only place that I know of in the US to get supplies such as caps, balls, etc. is from Neal Stepp at International Shooters Service. His website is: http://www.iss-internationalshootersservice.com/ammunition.html Which brings me to the next point. Gaylord mentioned that it is about time to place an order for supplies. If we order together, we can save on the ridiculous and abusive HazMat charge and on the freight as well. Let me know before the end of October and I will have it shipped.

If you don't know a lot about Zimmerstutzens, about all that is generally known is in Volume Three of Alte Scheibenwaffen (Old Target Arms). It is an informative book with many beautiful photographs of old Zimmers. It is available from the German Gun Collectors Assn. (www.germanguns.com). You might want to check out Volumes One and Two as well.

Often, many of the old Zimmers that are loaded with a "Loeffel" or spoon-sort of a fully removable bolt-have this part missing. If you have a Zimmerstutzen and this is the case, one of our members may have a solution for you that is both innovative and economical. Get in touch. Just don't let him talk you out of your "useless'" rifle. If your spoon is not missing, you would still do well to investigate this.

One more thing. For as long as I have had my Zimmer, I've cleaned it with either a patch or the little swabs that Mr. Stepp sells. I finally bought a 17 cal. brush and was amazed at what came out. Also, the rough place near the chamber isn't there anymore. Saturday was the first that I have used lube on the BB's. I used a few drops of Liquid Alox on them a few days before and was quite pleased with the results. I believe that my accuracy improved and the barrel stayed cleaner.

Cold weather is upon us and I believe that instead of our usual winter hiatus that we look for a convenient indoor range where we can have either Zimmer or 22 matches. Let me know your thoughts and suggestions.

Mary's Nipple Cup 2007

The competition for the Utah State Zimmerstutzen Championship and for the possession of the coveted Mary's Nipple Cup was held Saturday, the 15 of September in Mayfield, Utah. The day started early with eager competitors sighting-in and tucking-in. To start,the unscrupulous organizer, himself a competitor, stuffed the visiting and unsuspecting rubes with a huge breakfast and high octane coffee-a tactic designed only to gain advantage. The competition then began promptly an hour or so after the first call of the hunting horn. The firing of the targets lasted precisely for one hour plus what time it took Gaylord to finish. Certainly a contest to remember.

While this was going on, the ladies availed themselves of the opportunity to visit the historic Gunnison theater, a Utah Historical Site, and the recently completed dragon mosaic of Roman proportions, under the Gunnison Sanpitch bridge.

After the competition ended and the scoring was being done, Paul Lambert conducted a small contest where, I am loath to report, money seems to have changed hands. Alas, the times we live in. When the ladies, finally, arrived back from their cultural expedition, champagne toasts were made and the awards were granted the victors. Paul Lambert won the Glueckscheibe award, a fine reproduction of a Spanish flintlock in an easy-to-handle size. Common decency and humility forbid me from announcing the winner of the other prizes. Detractors, to their everlasting shame, may assert that some advantage was taken merely by the coincidence of the victor happening to have a: made the rules. b: shot the match on his "home range." and c: did all the scoring. "Evil to those who evil think," I say.

Pictures from the event are here and I encourage those who also took some photos to send them to me. I want to thank all of those who were present-I don't know if I have ever had a more pleasant weekend- and would encourage all to look forward with anticipation to MNC III.

Fireman's Revenge

Home Cooking